Criminal Minds Series Rewrite: Season One

The Popular Kids: Final Part

Not even an hour later, JJ called Penelope when she needed to extract some information on the work the computer genius did on all the volunteers. You were with Penelope the whole time, so you know she didn't really find anything that would be of value.

"Man, this is one place of a town. Most everyone lives well above the median income of the country. You got doctors and lawyers... One guy owns a bunch of shoe stores up and down the eastern seaboard."

"Is he married?" JJ chuckles.

"Yeah. Story of my life, sunshine. Reverend Paul Burke, looks like he became born again in prison."

"Prison?"

"Yeah for two years as a guest of the state of Ohio for embezzlement. I'm seeing a lot of tax sheltering and various hanky-panky here, but I'm not sure what would suggest potential satanic cult members."

"Maybe these deaths have nothing to do with satanic rituals, but the unsub wants everyone to think they are," you theorize.

"That's certainly a possibility, but I don't think so. We've gotten other evidence to point towards satanic rituals."

"Well, if I know anything, it's that people who worship Satan don't always look the part. Just because someone wears black makeup and listens to metal music doesn't mean they love the devil."

"Hold on," Penelope mumbles as she fast types.

"What, you got something?" JJ asks.

"Yeah, I got a guy with a ton of debts, spotty work history, and his house is in foreclosure. He's got a record, too. An assault with a deadly weapon three years ago."

"Wait, does it say what the weapon was?"

"Baseball bat," you answer.

"Our unsub used a blunt object," JJ reveals.

"Bats are blunt, aren't they?"

"What's this guy's name?"

"Dent. Henry Dent."

"Okay, here he is. Grid b-5," she reads from whatever is in front of her. "Okay, that puts him with... Elle."

"Shit," you mutter.

"Is everything okay?" JJ wonders.

"I wish I were with you guys. I could definitely find this girl. Fuck," you groan loudly.

"Just get better. There will be other cases," she sighs and hangs up.

"I fucking hate this."

"Why can't you let this one go??" Penelope asks in a soft voice.

"If I can help, I do it. All my life, I've never not helped someone. It didn't matter if I was hurt or if my dad didn't want me to, I did it. If I don't, people die and if people die, that's just one more fucking nightmare. I'm sorry for swearing, but this literally killing me. I hate not being able to help."

"Why wouldn't your dad want you to help? If I had a child with your gift, I'd let them use it all the time."

"My dad was an asshole. He was strict and he had a set of rules me and my foster siblings had to follow. If we didn't... anyway, my dad saw my abilities as a burden. The more I knew, the smarter I'd get. That's what he used to tell me, but he'd never tell me what I would be smart about. Don't get me wrong, I was his favorite kid. He didn't explicitly tell me this, but I knew. He'd do stuff with me without my brothers and sisters. Sorry I'm getting off track. To answer your question, my dad wasn't in favor of my "gift". He wanted it gone. I guess it scared him or whatever."